Anxiety once blighted her life - now she's an academic expert on the 'horse therapy' that helped her

A woman who was almost housebound with anxiety had her life transformed through working with rescued horses and ponies at the Mare and Foal Sanctuary.

Now Eva Novi has completed a Masters degree in Human-Animal Interaction, after her own experience inspired her to take an academic interest in the subject.

Her dissertation research - which earned her a distinction - followed the progress of young people taking part in the same Equine Assisted Services (EAS) programme at the Sanctuary’s Coombe Park yard.

Eva, now 35, said: "My journey really began here… At the time I struggled to find the confidence to leave my house.

“Coming to Coombe Park near Totnes felt like a huge personal challenge, but once I was here, with the horses and the team, I didn't look back.

“That sense of peace and purpose, and the calm acceptance from the horses, showed me that things could be different and that I could be okay."

Eva was struggling with severe anxiety in 2022 when she discovered the ‘This Girl Can Exercise with Equines’ programme, funded by Sport England, at the Mare and Foal Sanctuary.

She’d graduated from a BA in Design at Goldsmith’s University, London, but had moved to Devon during the 2020 lockdown, towards the end of her course, and had since become almost housebound.

Her sessions with the horses and ponies improved her mental wellbeing so much that she stayed on as a volunteer, and then took a staff job at Honeysuckle Farm in Newton Abbot.

She developed a ‘passion’ for equine therapy and decided to study for an MSc at the University of Stirling in Scotland - the only one in the UK offering a Masters in Human-Animal Interaction.

Her research project focused on the emotional mood-shifts experienced by a group of children and young people during their sessions at the Sanctuary.

During their six-week programme each participant was given a disposable camera and asked to take three photos during each visit: one at the start of their session, another in the middle and a third at the end. They were also asked to write down what they had chosen to photograph, and why.

Eva then spent months analysing the photos, looking for patterns in the images and the emotions people had described.

She said: "There is a lot of research that looks at heart rates and statistics.

“That's important, but it can miss the stories behind the numbers. Not everyone finds it easy to put feelings into words.

“For many people, especially young people, showing you something through a photograph can be more natural than trying to explain it.”

Dawn Neil from the Mare and Foal Sanctuary said: "Eva's journey is a powerful example of what can happen when you give someone time, space and a safe connection with horses.

“She first came to us struggling with anxiety, and found her confidence growing week by week alongside the horses.

“Now she's back as an academic, helping us learn more about how therapeutic time with our rescued horses and ponies impacts our participants' thoughts and feelings.”